The Marion County Board of Commission Chairman highlighted the county’s resiliency and ability to reallocate employees in response to the COVID-19 pandemic during remarks made Wednesday morning.
Jeff Gold, who took over as head of the commission earlier this year for District 2 Commissioner Kathy Bryant, made the remarks during Wednesday’s meeting of the Ocala/Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership.
“We were all expecting great things to happen, said Chairman Gold, referring to the county government’s anticipation for 2020. “And guess what happened? We had COVID hit…a lot of people lost businesses. Money was lost. Tragically, several people lost family members and friends.”
Gold indicated that despite the setbacks, the county “never shut down.” And when “certain areas” were mandated by the state to close, the county stepped in to reallocate employees to other positions within the county government.
Gold also praised the Marion County Public Library system, which shifted many of its programs online to accommodate children and started offering some of its services remotely.
“That’s the place that many people go for basic functions and internet,” said Gold, referring to the importance of keeping the library system operational.